D Magazine posted my review of Great Wolf Lodge on their FrontBurner blog (click here). Paul Milligan, my daughter Kennedy and I went to the resort this past weekend to do some research for an upcoming "Souvenir of Dallas" comic.
Also, I've joined the community blog for STAPLE! I haven't written anything, but soon I will.
If you're curious, other blogs I visit daily:
The Beat | Stereogum | Pop Candy | Unfair Park | FrontBurner
My books were published in this order: Emily Edison, Antigone, Karma Incorporated, and Astronaut Dad. However, they were written in reverse order. How does that happen? Astronaut Dad was the second comic book I ever wrote, even before the mini-comic I self published. I didn't think I could find a publisher for Astronaut Dad, so I tucked it away. Karma Incorporated was published as a three issue series, but the trade paperback didn't come out until a few months ago. We wanted to get the second series approved before we released the first, and that took some time. I wrote Antigone next, but wasn't too happy with the first version of the script. While Tom and I waited to get approval on the second Karma Incorporated book, we decided to finish Antigone. Then I wrote Emily Edison with Brock.
Thus to suggest that my work gets "better and better" would actually depress me.
It takes so long to get a comic book on the shelf; I'm amused when they come out in this order. To continue this tradition, the first chapter of the new Karma Incorporated was written a few years ago, and it'll be ready sometime this year. Likewise, there's tons of stuff I've written in the past two years that hasn't been published. One would think I'd try to write something, get it published, and then write something else. Instead, I tend to write lots of stuff at once, all in various stages of completion. Bolivar should be next. But since it looks to be my longest project yet, who knows?
I'm on my Christmas break right now. One of the perks of being a teacher. I would suggest that everybody should get this much time away from work -- if not more. Yes, I'm a big proponent of this cause. From the site:
"Vacations are vanishing. Only 14% of Americans will get a vacation of two weeks or longer this year. A third of women and a quarter of men get no annual leave anymore, as annual leave benefits are being eliminated like pensions. Many others are afraid to use their paid leave for fear they could be laid off or demoted if they do. No wonder the average American vacation is now down to a long weekend."
Other interesting facts:
* We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.* In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.
* Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession.
* On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.
* Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six weeks. Many of us (including 37% of women earning less than $40,000 per year) get no paid vacation at all.
So don't hassle me for having a Christmas break, a Spring break, and a Summer break. I'm just doing my career the right way, the healthy way. Plus, this extra time is usually the justification for low teacher salaries -- eight years at the same job, and I'm making barely more than when I started. During the summer, the more guilty-minded teachers usually waste away doing workshops or summer school. I spend the time with my daughter or writing. Yesterday, I was raking leaves.
The web design I started a few months ago is finally finished. You're looking at it -- a simple design and hopefully easy to navigate, art by my friend Dave Crosland. It took longer than I thought it would. I spent an unbelievable amount of time agonizing over fonts, which the title font is called "Later On" if you're curious. April helped a lot with her feedback. It doesn't hurt to have a girlfriend with a degree in Design. We had lengthy discussions on the number of menu links and the value of an ampersand. I took Dan Warner's suggestion with the blog titles for the RSS feed. (Thank you!)
Today is my first day of Christmas break... and thank god. Kennedy is at daycare; I'm in the office working. It's been a surprisingly productive morning. Although tomorrow, I have to rake leaves.
Also, the trailer for Persepolis is now on Apple trailers (click here).
For those people who don't like the new design, over the next few weeks, I'm going to make a few changes here and there. Mainly do a better job of intergrating the lovely Crosland artwork into the overall design. Add a rollover for the menu links, with some color. Also, change up the font for the menu. It won't be a huge change, but I like to nit-pick on this stuff. I still like the navigation and content. Anyways. That's all from me.
Oh happy day. I just purchased a Christmas gift for myself. A clear faux pas, but who hasn't done it? I couldn't resist. Todd Klein is offering this beautiful print, signed by himself and Alan Moore. Limited to 500. April is going to help me with the matte and frame.
Speaking of Christmas gifts, I would strongly recommend picking up PopGun Vol. 1. An incredible multi-genre anthology with some of my favorite people -- Mike Allred, Dave Crosland, Nick Derington, Dan Hipp, Derek Hunter, Joelle Jones, Jim Mahfood, Paul Maybury, Chris Moreno, Leah Moore, Rick Remender, Jamie S. Rich, and Mark Andrew Smith -- it's as though Image Comics asked the question, "What would make David most happy?" And then, they published it.
I haven't been impressed with many new comics this year. For whatever reason, nothing has really excited me. Not that I haven't read anything good -- Super Spy, The Spirit, and Madman have been amazing. There's plenty of "good" stuff. However, that inner-geek has remained dormant, sleeping soundly. Although, that's changed now that I've read The Umbrella Academy. This series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba is very cool and moving in all the right directions. It'll get some appropriate comparisons to BPRD and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but it's not derivative in any negative sense. More just a good concept built on super hero nouveau. Two issues, and I'm a huge fan.
This weekend, I'll be at Wizard World Texas (booth #207). Astronaut Dad arrived at my door, literally two hours ago. You can buy your copy this weekend. The printing looks even better than how we thought it would look.
This morning, Kennedy and I watched Snow White. Here are some things I noticed in the third act:
The Queen laughs about Snow White being buried alive. I don't think Disney has ever gone this dark since. The Queen, after her transformation, marvels that the apple will put Snow White into a death-like sleep. She amuses herself with the idea that the dwarves will bury the sweet princess alive, and she yells it several times just to make sure the kids at home understand.
Snow White is an idiot. Doc warns Snow White about strangers, and how the Queen wields powerful magic. And then, not much later, along comes a strange old woman with a "magic apple." Put two and two together! Geez, was Belle the first intelligent Disney princess? How many decades did it take?
Snow White wants Grumpy. Before she goes to bed, Snow White prays to God that Grumpy will like her. Then the next day, she makes a pie with his name on it while singing a reprise of "Someday My Prince Will Come." When she talks to the strange old lady about her so-called prince, the scene suspiciously cuts back to the dwarves before we get any specifics.
God kills The Queen. Oh hell yes. Don't dabble in the Dark Arts kids. You'll piss off God. Case in point. Snow White bites the magic apple, and immediately it starts raining on an otherwise clear day. The Queen climbs to the top of the rock ledge, and lightning strikes -- knocking her off the side. Then God uses his invention "gravity" to cause a large rock to fall on her. The only more satisfying Disney villain death is when Prince Eric stabs Ursula the Sea Witch with a boat.
If you haven't heard, the Writer's Guild of America is on strike. And good for them. I register my scripts through the WGA, but I am not a member.
Thus, I'm available for hire. Yes?
To the producers of Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, CSI, Friday Night Lights, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, How I Met Your Mother, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (please if there's a God...), King of the Hill, Lost, My Name Is Earl, The Office, The Riches, The Sarah Silverman Program, The Simpsons, The Wire, and anyone else on this list -- let's do lunch. I'm not cheap, but I'm your's if you want me. Sorry WGA. I have bills to pay.
The irony is, once I get my screen credit, I'd be eligible for the WGA. Obviously, I would want to sign up. And thereby be obligated to join the strike.
Or better yet, if someone wants to option KARMA INCORPORATED as a television series, we can get to work on that after the strike is over. (Do you like how I assume the whole world is reading my blog?)
**UPDATE** If you read the comments section, I've decided to join the strike in solidarity even though I'm not a credited screenwriter. So to all those producers I mentioned above, screw you guys.**UPDATE TO THE UPDATE** Just kidding with the whole "screw you guys" comment. I'm sure you're all nice people. To the producers of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, call me...
**UPDATE TO THE UPDATE OF THE UPDATE** I should clarify. Since the WGA doesn't include comic book writers, I will not stop from writing comics. I will only cease from writing any screenplays for film and TV, which I don't do anyways. But now, I'm "not doing it" as a statement.
**UPDATE TO THAT LAST UPDATE** Don't take any of this seriously.
In other news, we've been racing to get ASTRONAUT DAD printed and shipped before Wizard World Texas. That's next week. I counted, and today I've received no less than 37 e-mails on all the little details concerning the printing. It's been hectic.
Things that are good:
(1) I'm on page 122 of Strangers in Paradise, Pocket Book 6 by Terry Moore.
(2) I'm on page 33 of No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July.
(3) I'm on track 4 ("Intervention") of Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire.
(4) I'm on www.threadless.com
(5) I'm also on www.comicfoundry.com
I've been writing comics for four years now, closer to five. With two graphic novels coming out within a few weeks of each other (and two more for next year), things are good. Although, I don't know if I've done a decent job finding an audience. Wim and April, on separate occasions, both talked to me about how I should do more to market, brand, sell myself. Being that Wim works in advertising and April is a designer, they should know. It's not as if I haven't tried. I'm just not a fan of shameless self-promotion. It makes me uneasy. I've seen too many of my peers get pegged with the "shameless" distinction -- black listed for their enthusiasm. You let the work speak for itself. I believe that. But if no one knows you're out there, what then? Hard to let anything speak, if it isn't heard, especially anything independent or small press.
The website is in middle of a re-design. Artwork coming around November 12th. Business cards to follow. Beyond this? Post more MySpace and Facebook bulletins? Go on a frenzied "friending" spree? A weekly newsletter? A promotional mailer? Purchase web banners? Go back to writing a column for a comics website? Find an agent? Crime spree? Do more to woo my favorite publishers? Attend more conventions? More store signings? Enlist my friends to the cause? Or simply wait and see?
Things are good right now. And considering my gig at D Magazine: things are really good. (By the end of next year, Paul Milligan and I will be local gods.) However, I'm still looking for my audience... if you exist.
Posted on Drawn!, a commencement speech by Bill Watterson:
"Selling out is usually more a matter of buying in. Sell out, and you're really buying into someone else's system of values, rules and rewards. The so-called 'opportunity' I faced would have meant giving up my individual voice for that of a money-grubbing corporation. It would have meant my purpose in writing was to sell things, not say things. My pride in craft would be sacrificed to the efficiency of mass production and the work of assistants. Authorship would become committee decision. Creativity would become work for pay. Art would turn into commerce. In short, money was supposed to supply all the meaning I'd need."
In a somewhat related post about "selling out" by Steven Grant (click here).
I picked up the premiere issue of Comic Foundry. Good Lord, this is a great magazine. Matt Fraction's "How to Make Love to Kieron Gillen" is about the funniest thing I've read. I'm especially fond of step 6: Working through the tears. Seriously, if this magazine can't survive in our industry, then our industry is doomed. Comic Foundry's two closest competitors, Wizard and The Comics Journal, aren't even hitting the same audience. This new magazine is for people who read and enjoy a wide range of comics and graphic novels -- not necessarily limited to the Marvel/DC elitists or the "high art" comic mavens. I've always been a big fan of Tim Leong (CF's editor-in-chief). This guy knows what he's doing. He's a bonafide comic book journalist. So congrats, Tim, I can't say enough about CF.
Many of you have already read the news (click here). I looked up to Mike. He was an amazing artist, and just an incredible person. Friendly and open. He supported so many people in small press publishing. We loved him. No one better.
Don't know what else to say.
New Wes Anderson movie!
The Darjeeling Limited
If all the filmmakers in the world were trapped in a burning building, Wes Anderson would be the only one I'd save. This film looks like a nice progression in what has become his trademark eye-candy style. Adrien Brody is a good addition to usual cast -- especially if you've seen him in Dummy (a sorely under appreciated film). You know he fits the "Wes Anderson mold." And that's not a bad thing.
Also, Rocket Science and Dedication look really good -- and something new from the Coen Brothers! I can't wait for the summer mega-movie season to crawl back into its hole, so we can get back to quality storytelling.
MISCELLANY: I set up an account with Yelp. Planning to post my first review this afternoon.
While you're busy pre-ordering the Karma Incorporated TPB (yes and thank you, by the way), make sure to add Comic Foundry Magazine to your sub list. The grassroots movement continues! We fought to get it in Previews. Now we need it on the shelves -- and we're talking large numbers here!
From Tim Leong:
Some Info on the Mag:
I'm emailing you because the new Comic Foundry Magazine needs your help. We're in the new Previews Catalog and we need your help getting the magazine into stores this September. If you want to see the magazine in stores, you can help by asking your local shop to order a copy for you. In fact, we've got a special order form below for just that.
The market already has Wizard and The Comics Journal talking to the two very opposite ends of fandom, but no one is speaking to the wide and growing number of fans who find themselves somewhere in between. Personally, I read a mix of superhero comics, indie comics, and manga. My reading isn’t limited to just one category -- I like to mix it up, and I think you do too.
Comic Foundry is also different by approaching comics from a lifestyle perspective, with stories about how comics can influence your everyday life, through fashion, decorating, music, nightlife, and more. Comic Foundry defies traditional stereotypes about comic book fans with a smart and stylish package designed to draw readers of every stripe into the fold.
Stories in our first issue include:
- Interviews with comic stars like Brad Meltzer, Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughan and Garth Ennis
- A feature interview with actress Kristen Bell on life after Veronica Mars
- An overview of the coolest comic book t-shirts available
- A feature exploring sex in comics, and what your pull list says about you
The Fine Print:
Comic Foundry is in the July Previews on page 384, #JUL073987. The first issue is 80 pages, black and white, and at $5.98, it's one cent cheaper than Wizard.
Printable Reservation Form:
http://comicfoundry.com/themes/reserve.jpg
My plight against injustice has not fallen on deaf ears.
From the Dallas Observer blog: click here
A study on the significance of not-so-subtle imagery.
As you might be aware, there's been controversy over the Heroes for Hire #13 cover, drawn by Sana Takeda. Here's the original, courtesy of Heidi MacDonald and The Beat. I find it highly inappropriate, especially for a publisher who supposedly wants more female readers and to reach a younger audience, but apparently not with this comic. Hey, outrage isn't limited to one gender or demographic, I'm a 30 year old male and I'm offended by this! Especially the semen-like ooze on Black Cat's chest. I mean, seriously, did no one at Marvel think this was a little too much? Joe Quesada's response went like this: (a) If you see something perverse, get your mind out of the gutter! They're fighting slimey aliens. (b) It was drawn by a woman, so how could it be sexist?
Quesada's logic is flawed, but typical of a person trying to save his ass. Point A: Being able to recognize perverse material doesn't make you a pervert. It makes you observant. Point B: The content is the issue here. No matter who drew it, the image is still exploitive.
I'm amused by Lea Hernandez's response (click here). In particular, her remixes of the cover: version 1 -and- version 2. Line up the original with version 1. Small changes make a huge difference.
Is the controversy a double standard on the freedom of expression, i.e. you can do whatever you want as long as it's not sexist or racist? I get the irony. Trust me. Though it's more about acting responsibly with your readership. Say whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Be responsible with what you say and do.
Maybe this cover says more about the culture of the comic book readers than it does about the mainstream comic book companies? It can be awfully frustrating to a small press guy like myself. Is this what I have to do for people to buy my book? Let's hope my audience is out there, somewhere, and that they have better sensibilities.
Important reading...
http://whedonesque.com/comments/13271
This weekend, I'm working on another pulse article for D Magazine. I interviewed my friend Leah Wilson, editor at BenBella Books. They publish the Smart Pop Series. These books target various pop culture fan groups. With her permission, I've posted the entire transcript of our interview, where she talks about the nature of fans.
What makes someone a fan?
Leah: I think of a fan as someone who is intensely emotionally involved with something, with which they are not involved in a material, creative sense-- a sports team, a television show, an artist's or writer's or musician's body of work.
Is marketing to fans a growth industry or a "find your niche" industry?
Leah: I'd say a growth industry, but not one that's growing at an extremely high rate. I do think that as the quality of television shows has increased, and as the frequency with which the creators of those shows engage with their audience (via new technologies) have increased, the potential for greater fandom has emerged. Look at Grey's Anatomy-- they've taken excellent advantage of the growing popularity and awareness of blogging and built an unexpectedly devoted (for such a "mainstream" successful show) base of fans through it.
The rise of social networking online has been a big factor as well-- being able to talk to other fans feeds fandom, in large part because being a part of fandom becomes a socially rewarding experience. When the show you love ends or its fandom fizzles out, you want to find another one, another group to belong to. The ability to "catch up" with shows via DVDs or online downloads is part of the growth as well. So is the increasing validation of popular culture's worth. Fandom used to be associated with, when it comes to things like television and other media, Star Trek fans, Trekkies, and they weren't exactly considered cool. The term "Trekkie" ended up with such negative connotations that even Trekkies don't use it anymore-- a lot of Trek fans prefer "Trekkers."
Is there any correlation between the commercial success of a property and success of the related Smart Pop Book?
Leah: Less than we wish there was! Passion is a much more reliable indicator. Plenty of people I know watched and enjoyed Everybody Loves Raymond, but I can't think of one who *loved* it-- who would talk about it in depth with friends the next day. A show like Veronica Mars, on the other hand, doesn't have a lot of commercial success, but the people who do watch it are deeply devoted. The nature of Smart Pop books is to go *deeper* into a particular property-- to be like one of those next-day discussions you have with your friends, only if you friends were bestselling authors or psychologists or scientists-- and that doesn't sell unless the show's fans are wanting to go deeper on their own.
What do you do to learn about a property before starting the anthology?
Leah: We try to look for indicators that there *is* that kind of engagements-- that people are talking about the show (or comic, or book series) in a serious way. Online activity is a good way to get a sense of that-- message board activity, fan sites, fanfiction archives, blogs and livejournal and MySpace. So, for TV, are DVD sales; often high DVD sales mean you have viewers looking to watch the episodes of their favorite show multiple times. Clearly they're getting more out of the show than just "entertainment."
From a content standpoint, I try to immerse myself as much as possible in the property in question, to understand what the compelling questions are, what's interesting to discuss further-- something more easily done with a two year old TV show, of course, than with 50 years of comics!
What are fans wanting from their beloved property (be it Grey's Anatomy or Spider-Man)?
Leah: In a general sense-- *more*. More ways to be involved, more ways to be engaged. More information. To know something about the property they love that they didn't before, whether it's more insight into a character or when a piece of set dressing first showed up in the background.
What can businesses and publishers learn from fans and fan culture?
Leah: That your audience-- whether viewers or readers or customers-- is smart. If you treat them like they're intelligent, they'll reward that, they'll reward your product-- with respect, with time, and with energy.
Which fans are the most obsessive? Are Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, and Desperate Housewives fans any less geeky?
Leah: I think obsessiveness is about even across the board, at least among the people I'd really categorize as *fans*. (There are many people who watch Grey's, for instance, that aren't engaged enough to really warrant the term.) "Geekiness" is really more a matter of mainstream approval than level of obsessiveness-- take sports fans. Painting your face and chest and going shirtless at a winter football game is way more insane than anything I've ever seen a fan do (well, *almost* anything) ... but it's way less likely to get strange looks.
Tim Leong's Comic Foundry Magazine has been rejected by Diamond Distributors for rather curious reasons (read here).
According to Diamond: "a B&W title at the price you're using just won't work well in the current market we believe." Fact: our cover price is $6.25 for an 80-page B&W magazine. Now they might not think that will sell, but it isn't consistent with what they're already approving. Such as Issue 14 of Draw! magazine, that's 80 pages, B&W and retails for $6.95. Same with issue 15 of Write Now! Both same specs, but 70 cents more.I called Diamond for more clarification and spoke with Tim Huckelbery, who let me know the news in the first place. He said, among other things, "When I was looking though it and reading a magazine of that type, which is about comics, which has lots of images of comics characters, that is looking to be timely and topical, I was expecting color. That, just for me, is how my brain is wired." So, to be a timely magazine with topical content (and feature images of comic characters) it has to be in color? I'm sorry, I've thought about this all afternoon, and I don't really see how this makes sense. What about The Comics Journal or Comics Buyers Guide? Neither of those are full-color, right?
I'm a fan of Comic Foundry and level of quality they consistently bring to our market. This magazine would fill a niche that other comic-related publications do not, offering reasonable competition in a limited field. It's a shame Diamond has made such an error. However, I'm encouraging everyone to e-mail Diamond's Tim Huckelbery and request they reconsider this decision.
